ANAHEIM – At the midpoint of the Crestview League season, Canyon’s candidacy for the softball playoffs was anything but a sure thing.
The Comanches had dropped back-to-back games to El Modena and Yorba Linda. Since then, Canyon has been a different team.
Hailey Hilburn struck out four in a complete-game effort as the Comanches defeated Los Alamitos, 6-1, Thursday in a CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinal game at Canyon High.
“I think they felt entitled, and I think they thought this thing was going to automatically come to them,” Comanches coach Dan Hay said of his reaction following the early league losses.
“When they finally realized that it wasn’t, they buckled down. We haven’t looked back since, and we seem to be getting better every game we play.”
Canyon has won eight in a row to reach the semifinals. The Comanches will travel to Norco for their semifinal on Tuesday.
The Comanches received contributions throughout their lineup. Hilburn’s two-run homer in the third put Canyon on the board. In the fourth, Brianna Betschel added to the lead with a single to drive in Madison Marshall.
A one-out walk and a double by Rachel DeHart knocked Griffins starter Katya Duvall (14-5) out of the game in the fifth. Canyon continued to rally with run-scoring singles from Taryn Young and Jennifer Rouly to make it 6-0.
Los Alamitos threatened in the sixth. Jenna Holcomb and Caitlin Ladd singled to help the Griffins load the bases, but Hilburn (23-7) retired Alexa Schultz to get out of the jam.
Hilburn says the Comanches’ run is a byproduct of their enhanced focus.
“I don’t really think of it as a winning streak. I think it’s just us playing good ball,” she said. “All we’re doing right now is just focusing on our goal, and we aren’t looking at that winning streak whatsoever.”
Taylor Covington scored the Griffins’ run on a double by Kaylee Ellebracht in the seventh.